Director of UX Research

Job Overview

Position Summary:

The Director of UX Research develops research programs and nurtures User Experience & Design enthusiasts in the ways of research. They develop our research program within the product organization. The Director crafts the vision for how research activities tie into our larger product design process and works with partners in design to execute research strategy. They leverage a mix of homegrown efforts and outside vendor support and help grow our practice into a fully-fledged research team. The Director develops and installs best practice processes for User Experience research, communicates findings to the team via presentations or async documentation, evaluates qualitative and quantitative data, and helps the User Experience team better understand what would make a user’s experience more intuitive, accessible, and seamless.

Essential Responsibilities (includes, but is not limited to):

• Establish trust with cross-functional partners and senior leadership, such as Product Management, Design, Engineering, and Marketing
• Oversee UX Research efforts, ensuring a consistent, unified vision and developing others' skills & abilities
• Proactively identify user research projects; work collaboratively with Product Managers and Product Designers to execute research projects
• Divide time across strategic research, problem validation, and solution validation
• Guide and train Product Designers in how to undertake evaluative research projects and in how to create strategic deliverables (such as journey maps, storyboards, competitive analyses, and personas)
• Evangelize research; share user insights with the broader organization and externally in creative ways to increase empathy
• Lead strategic user research initiatives that span multiple product areas (and possibly the entire product)
• Actively contribute to UX research processes and documentation

Ideal Skills, Experience, and Competencies:

• At least eight (8) years of UX research experience
• At least two (2) years of management experience
• Ability to quickly and effectively share research results
• Ability to perform all research-related tasks including research, planning, evaluating, and iteration autonomously
• Ability to formulate specific, answerable, and practical questions
• Ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders and act as a strategic partner in product decisions
• Experience with remote testing tools
• A strong desire for creative problem-solving with a positive attitude
• Excellent time-management skills

Required Education & Certifications:

• A./B.S. in related field or equivalent work experience

Compensation: